Migrants 'Sorry' as Denver Cuts Services, Hours at DMV and Parks & Rec to Pay for Crisis Response

"I am incredibly proud in what the city has done and in what city employees have done," says Mayor Mike JohnstonRaul Mendoza, a Venezuelan migrant who arrived in Denver last week, says he feels bad that Denver has to cut its budget in order to support him and others like him.

At a press conference on Friday, February 9, Mayor Mike Johnston shared his disappointment in the U.S Senate for killing a bipartisan border bill that would have put $1.4 billion towards local shelters and programs to aid the migrants coming into this country, and announced where the city will make budget cuts so that it can continue responding to the crisis without federal help.

"I am incredibly proud in what the city has done and in what city employees have done," Johnston said."We have welcomed 40,000 newcomers to this city, and if we're talking about fifty or sixty of them that are unhoused today, that means 99.9 percent of the folks who have shown up to this city in sandals and a T-shirt, with no support and no infrastructure, we have successfully integrated into the fabric of this country.

The city had already asked departments last month to begin looking for possible cuts in case Denver had to meet that $180 million projection, which works out to $15 million a month. Starting March 4, the Denver Motor Vehicle Division will stop in-person vehicle registration renewals, requiring residents to do the process through the mail,will reduce hours. Regional recreation centers — such as the Carla Madison and Washington Park centers — will go from opening seven days a week to six. Local and neighborhood centers will stay open six days a week but will reduce their hours of operation.

With the January cuts and the cuts announced February 9, Denver is saving $30 million that can be used for its migrant response down the road. Johnston said the city plans to"decrease the number of newcomers served," too, but didn't detail how it plans to do so as migrants continue to arrive.

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